With little time left before Congress breaks for the year, Sen. Orrin Hatch remains confident lawmakers will extend an already-lapsed insurance program for children in low- to middle-income families.
While Hatch has pushed for a five-year extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a short-term patch for six months is looking more likely as part of the spending bill package to avert a government shutdown this week.
The federal and state program — the 1997 brainchild of Hatch and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy — provides wellness exams, immunizations, doctor visits, prescriptions and other forms of health care to nearly 20,000 children in Utah and 9 million nationwide.